Post War Shakarian
by icaughtfire31
Summary: So I don't really have a title, because it's just some fluffy fluff that I thought of one day. It's about the life of Shepard and Garrus post-destroy ending. It's some happy fluff, enjoy!


"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Garrus's daughter squealed at him from her bedroom down the hall. Hannah always started talking the moment her eyes fluttered open in the morning, until they closed again at night. From the greyish half-light filtering in the window, he knew it was far too early to be awake. He heard thuds as both kids got out of their beds and raced down the hallway.

_Maybe if I keep my eyes closed, they won't –_

Before he could finish his thought, Hannah had launched herself onto the bed, climbing on top of him, jumping and shouting. Thane followed suite, only a little less loud and boisterous than his sister. Garrus groaned as one of Hannah's knees collided with his ribs. He checked the time on his omni-tool; five o'clock Earth time.

"Hey, what are you guys doing awake this early?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"It's mom's birthday!" was Thane's excited answer, "you said we could make her breakfast in bed!"

Garrus rolled onto his back and gave Shepard a sideways look. She cracked one eye open and smirked at him. "Did I say that? I don't think I said that."

Hannah crawled in between them and attempted to push Garrus out of bed. "You said, Daddy. You said eggs and bacon and orange juice. You said!" Her bright blue eyes were wide and full of excitement, her hair (getting too long to manage, now) loose and falling around her face.

Garrus gave a loud, over dramatic sigh, "Okay, I guess. Go brush your teeth and get washed up. I'll meet you in the kitchen in ten minutes."

Both Hannah and Thane tore out of the bedroom and into the hall, forgetting to close the door behind them. Garrus turned his head to look at Shepard, who was smiling from ear to ear. "Regret making that promise?" she asked.

"I didn't expect them to get up this early," Garrus said, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "but no. My favourite Commander deserves some, what did you call it? TEC?"

"TLC," Shepard corrected, "Tender Loving Care." She rolled onto her back and stretched languidly. The thin fabric of her night shirt strained against her breasts, and Garrus gave a low rumble in his throat. He rolled on top of her, planted a knee on either side of her hips, and captured her mouth in a kiss.

Kissing had been awkward for Garrus at first, since it wasn't something turians generally did. At least not like the other species like asari and humans, with their soft lips and tongues. Shepard had seemed to enjoy it, though, so Garrus made it work. In time he came to enjoy it almost as much as she did. He felt Shepard slip her tongue into his mouth, and he fought back playfully with his own. Throughout the years, Garrus had learned to read Shepard's body like a book. Right now, she was pressing her hips upwards to meet his, and she snaked her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Garrus moved his mouth down to her neck and nipped at the tender flesh.

Shepard moaned as she ran her hands up and down his spine, "careful, Garrus. Don't start what you can't finish."

Garrus ignored her warning and continued to work his mouth down her throat to her collar bone, eliciting delicious moans of appreciation from Shepard. He shifted his weight to his knees and slid his hands over her stomach and underneath her shirt to rub her breasts. Her body reacted immediately, her back arched into him and her nipples became erect under his fingers. Garrus loved the way she squirmed under him, her fingers gripping the sheets on either side of her; it was enough to make the plates between his legs loosen.

"Garrus," Shepard warned again, her breath catching in her throat.

"I know," Garrus said. He moved his mouth up the other side of her neck to her earlobe. He dropped his voice to a low growl, "just giving you a taste of what you're in for later." He took his hands out of her shirt and sat up.

Shepard shook her head, "you're evil."

Garrus bent down to kiss her one last time. "So, how old are you, now?" he teased, "one-hundred and ten?"

Shepard hit him on the shoulder, "Shut up and make me breakfast. Don't burn the bacon."

Garrus grinned as he stood up and changed his clothes. For a moment he considered whether or not he'd need his visor. Shepard had been bugging him lately about how often he wore it. He knew he didn't need it all the time, not anymore; but during those years of never-ending missions and life threatening enemies, he had grown accustomed to it. In the end, he decided against it and headed down to the kitchen. One of the cats trotted up to him when he entered, winding itself around Garrus's legs and almost tripping him. Garrus had never wanted pets, but Hannah had the tendency to "rescue" whatever injured or abandoned animals she came across, and Garrus never had the heart to tell her no. The cat _meowed_ at him until he finally relented and bent down to scratch the thing behind its ears.

Hannah and Thane were already in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Hannah was sitting on a kitchen stool in her candy pink nightgown, her feet swinging underneath her. She was eating some brightly coloured sugar-packed cereal that humans seemed to love so much. Garrus just knew it was going to cause Hannah to be extra high energy today. Thane was sitting across from her, eating a more sensible breakfast of some dextro cheese and bread. Garrus watched them for a moment, realizing that they were growing up far too fast for his liking. Garrus could remember with clarity the day he and Shepard had decided to adopt, after the long recovery and rehabilitation she'd gone through after the war. It was a memory that filled Garrus with happiness. He had always wanted to be a father, and there were so many children out there that needed a home after the war.

Thane had been first, small for a turian and quiet. He had been one of thousands of turians evacuated from Palaven during the first days of the attack. Nobody knew where his parents were, and if Thane remembered, he never spoke about it. Hannah had been a few months later, a screaming baby from earth that only quieted when Shepard held her. Garrus remembered the tears in Shepard's eyes as she cradled the little pink bundle against her chest. "Her name is Hannah," a nurse had told them, and Garrus knew they wouldn't be leaving the hospital without her.

Now, his babies had grown up so much it was difficult to believe they were the same kids. Thane had grown from the shy little kid into quite the noble young turian. He was only eight years old by earth standards, but he was smart and brave and looked after his sister with a protectiveness he could only have learned from Garrus. Not that Hannah needed much protecting. Though she wasn't Shepard's biological daughter, she certainly had Shepard's fearless, take-no-crap attitude. Both of them loved to take care of others. Both of them made him proud every single day.

"All right," Garrus said, clapping his hands together, "what should we make mom?"

"Pancakes!" Hannah shouted. She could never say anything quietly.

Garrus chuckled and turned on the stove, "all right, pancakes it is."

Forty minutes, six burnt pancakes and many broken eggshells later, Garrus brought the tray of food back up to the bedroom. Shepard grinned at them as the kids bounded back into the room and climbed into bed with her. Hannah nestled herself on her right side, Thane on her left. "Mmm, it smells delicious!" she exclaimed as Garrus put the food in front of her.

"I made the bacon!" Thane exclaimed with pride, "because I know dad would burn it."

"Oh, thank you very much for your vote of confidence," Garrus said.

Shepard laughed, "well, thank you for watching out for my bacon, sweetie."

"Daddy!" Hannah yelled, "come eat breakfast!"

"Thanks, but someone needs to clean up the disaster in the kitchen. It looks like the Citadel did after your mom destroyed it. You three enjoy. Come down when you're ready," Garrus turned to leave the room, but not before he committed the scene to his memory. Shepard, smiling so big and bright it was hard to believe a few short years ago her life had been a living hell; Hannah, talking loud because it was the only way she knew how, eating the pancakes that were made for Shepard; and Thane, offering to make more bacon because he knew Shepard loved it so much. The cat trotted into the room and jumped up to join them. It curled up on Thane's lap and went to sleep instantly.

It was so perfect Garrus could hardly believe it was real.


End file.
